Wow! Except for a couple of posts, these three pages on the topic explain perfectly all of the "My trains won't run" and "How do I keep my track clean" threads.
Sorry, but either get rid of the cat(s), or live with the problem and quitcherbitchin'.
Wayne
Of course, cats and trains can coexist.
Back before I brought Casey Jones home, I used to let Chessie in the basement when I was down there working. Typically, he would wander around the basement a bit (on the floor) and then he would get up on the steps and watch me and the trains. As you can tell by the video, he did enjoy watching the trains, and except for a couple times after I first brought him home, he always stayed off the layout. Of course, Casey Jones is a little more daring, and with both of them down there, they have a tendency to get into things, which slows my work. As a result, I haven't let them both down there in a while. Granted, the last time my brother, his wife, and nephew came to visit, we were downstairs, and Casey did come down on the stairs for a couple minutes and then took off back upstairs.
In my office where I have my Lionel in a loop on the floor, they both are allowed to come in while I'm in there, and they both enjoy watching the train go around and around. Unfortunately, Casey hasn't learned not to lay down on the tracks in front of the train.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
Just say, "Grrrr, darn cat." and reach for the sculptamold, hot glue gun, or whatever it takes to make repairs....
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I know I posted a few things on here but I completely forgot about my other cat, Hector. He's a little on the big side though so I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with him.
This is Hector in the back yard a few weeks ago. I guess the squirrels aren't as interesting from outside, when he's in the house his pink nose is usually smudging up the windows. But I can't complain, I love him Haven't had anyone try to break in since we got him
Hansel What would a man be doing with a cat?
What would a man be doing with a cat?
Sitting back and watching them chase dogs. What do you THINK?
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I USED to have a cat problem.....
(no no, the cats are still here and alive and in good health...sheesh, what do you take me for? )
At the old place, the layout was in the dining room. Even at 52" off the floor it didn't stop the big cat, he coudl still jump on it - which was bad because at over 20 pounds, he put some nice dents in the foam. The bigger problem was the little one though, I didn't have anything built yet, was just designing, so I set some flex track on the top to store the car kits and also test run engines To keep things from being shoved off the end onto the floor, I built a couple Walthers bumpers and set them in place. One day I noticed a bumper was missing. The little cat hopped up and absconded with it. I looked all over the place, figuring she batted it around for a while and lost interest or got it under a radiator where she couldn't reach it. No luck. Like a week later as I was leaving I noticed somethign outside the door that I almost stepped on - the missing bumper! How it survived in the hall with no one else stepping on it I'll never know.
Now I have a seperate room. With a door. That stays closed. No more cat problems.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Another thing to try is keeping a couple of old boots and shoes laying around. Cat nears the layout equals flying size 12. They tend to stay away after a couple of direct hits. They do tend to take a while to wake up if you hit them in the head so be careful . Oh or keep the door closed.
Springfield PA
I give Chessie and Casey Jones a safe and loving home. That is what I do with my two cats.
Well, with the right seasonings, just about anything!
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
I simply give Pickles his allowance and mix him a martini. Then he settles in for an evening of shopping on ebay, which provides an adequate diversion from eating trees.
Oh, and I close the door to the layout room.
Lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjX1kpUP0Hg
Somehow this seams appropriate here...Beware KITTY KONG!!!!
Have fun with your trains
Oh, for cryin' out loud, this comes up at least twice a year or more often on this Forum--all you have to do is check back through the posts, there's at least 1,500 posts on this.
I've got two cats that I love very much--a Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. This is what I do:
CLOSE THE *** DOOR!
The bungie cord idea sounds the least intrusive, and may prove very effective if they do try to use them to climb. Cats are devious and subtle, you have to be more devious to succeed. If you make them mad, they'll likely sleep on the steps at night when you're most likely to try descending in the dark (I know, we have 4)!!!
My luck is they wouldn't come within 5 feet of the cords.
Just keep 'em out of the room, though I know well enough from experience that this has no chance of success, and that they'll try their hardest to get in if they know you don't want 'em to. Again, they're very devious.
jon grant
(Pretending to be a HO scale figure)
"OH $@#%!, It's Catzilla! RUN!"
Either way, try these new Popits my friend just showed me: (Edit: I couldn't find a photo and accidentally hit post. They look like small, fuse-less firecrackers, and they are loud!
Water bottles, dogs,spices,tape, and other things still sound like a lot of trouble. Just let me take care of your trains for you. All I have is a python and he can care less for the trains. I can even let you come over and visit your trains any time you want. Just watch for the snake. He likes to get out some times(JK).
You keep the cats and I will keep the trains. It is a win win situation if I ever saw one.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
richg1998 Get rid of the cat. My wife and I did that nearly 12 years ago. No guilt. Rich
Get rid of the cat. My wife and I did that nearly 12 years ago. No guilt.
Rich
My cat is a straight kick in the crotch to superstition.
R. T. POTEET Jon Grant, I about went over backwards when I saw your posted photograph; I, too, have a ginger coated "Torty" identical to the one in your photograph right down to the white on the left rear paw. She is called Feisty and she goes to great length to live up to her name.
Jon Grant, I about went over backwards when I saw your posted photograph; I, too, have a ginger coated "Torty" identical to the one in your photograph right down to the white on the left rear paw. She is called Feisty and she goes to great length to live up to her name.
The one in the photo is named Pushkin (my mother's idea) but technically 'she' should be called Pushkina. She is very light-footed and doesn't do any real damage - hence me photographing her in action, rather than shooing her off.
One of my other cats, though, has a taste for the sea foam trees. I'll not tell you what I call her.
Jon
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Jon Grant, I about went over backwards when I saw your posted photograph; I, too, have a ginger coated "Torty" identical to the one in your photograph right down to the white on the left rear paw. She is called Feisty and she goes to great length to live up to her name. She is my favorite! Incidentally I also have three other "Tortys" one of which is one of the most beautiful Calicos you have ever seen in your life!
With four leaping cats I am sure that I am going to have to devise some way of keeping mine off my future layout which will be built in the mobile home next door. Terrorizing - I hope the use of that word here is acceptable; awhile back I was using the word "terrorist" in a Barbara Boxer quotation in my signature and got ask by one of the moderators to remove it as some liberal had protested that it was an unacceptable word -- them such as an acquaintance of mine did and which I have told about here on the forum is not really an option in my case. My benchwork will be 54" off the floor and what I am thinking at this moment is using (removable) joists to extend the edges of the platform and stringing bungee cords between the joists; the cats may well be able to surmount that 54" but I doubt seriously if they will try it more than once once they come to realize that those cords do not provide solid footing.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
MILW-RODRChances are the OP is talking about a domesticated pet cat, not a nusciance feline hiding in the barn.
Got it in one. The two Siamese in question belong to my partner. I think that the water bottle, door closed and perspex on the edge of the layout may be the way to go. Thanks for all the replies, everyone.
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
I assembled some Woodland Scenics trees and while the glue was still wet, I sprinkled some cayenne pepper in the trees. It looks cool and my cat won't touch them.
I failed miserably with my attempts
but I may have found the solution
Just beware"
chatanuga 2. Keep a water bottle with a spray nozzle handy. If you see them get up on something that they aren't supposed to, shout "No" or "Down". If they do not comply, a quick squirt of water does the trick. Soon, they'll learn not to get up on things.
2. Keep a water bottle with a spray nozzle handy. If you see them get up on something that they aren't supposed to, shout "No" or "Down". If they do not comply, a quick squirt of water does the trick. Soon, they'll learn not to get up on things.
chatanuga 3. Get an empty soda can and fill it with some pennies. Place near where the cats are getting up on something or tampering with something. When the can gets knocked off, the noise spooks them, and they learn not to go near it. (This has worked great with my cats' trying to climb the blinds on my living room window.)
3. Get an empty soda can and fill it with some pennies. Place near where the cats are getting up on something or tampering with something. When the can gets knocked off, the noise spooks them, and they learn not to go near it. (This has worked great with my cats' trying to climb the blinds on my living room window.)
chatanuga 4. Get a small battery-operated motion alarm and place it near where they are not supposed to be (ie. on the layout, behind the TV, etc.). They learn quickly not to go near it.
4. Get a small battery-operated motion alarm and place it near where they are not supposed to be (ie. on the layout, behind the TV, etc.). They learn quickly not to go near it.
chatanuga 5. Leave out strips of clear packaging tape on the edges of the layout. They don't like things that stick to them. Beware of this though and only do it when you're home. A cat with a strip of tape stuck to its behind will hit mach one is 0.00000325 seconds.
5. Leave out strips of clear packaging tape on the edges of the layout. They don't like things that stick to them. Beware of this though and only do it when you're home. A cat with a strip of tape stuck to its behind will hit mach one is 0.00000325 seconds.
chatanuga 6. Cayenne pepper. Let the cat taste it first. Once it tastes it, it won't even stand the smell. I use a paste of cayenne pepper and water for on electrical cords and that sort of thing. I have tried the sour apple and bitter yuck sprays, but my cats like the taste of those.
6. Cayenne pepper. Let the cat taste it first. Once it tastes it, it won't even stand the smell. I use a paste of cayenne pepper and water for on electrical cords and that sort of thing. I have tried the sour apple and bitter yuck sprays, but my cats like the taste of those.
chatanuga 7. Scat mats. These are plastic mats that have exposed wires running around them on a 9V battery. When the two wires are touched at the same time, the cat (or human's hand) will get a small shock.
7. Scat mats. These are plastic mats that have exposed wires running around them on a 9V battery. When the two wires are touched at the same time, the cat (or human's hand) will get a small shock.
Works with many cats, but some enjoy spicy - I have one cat that can smell a can of hot jalapeño cheese dip being opened across the house, and then run over everyone in her way, trying to get her share.
What cat problem ? Just make it comfortable for them.
Actually he has gotten very good about the layout. He rarely climbs on top and mostly likes to scratch the legs to sharpen his claws.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
I just can not believe the cruelty in this thread!!! The only thing to do is keep the cats and give me the trains. That's the only humane thing I can think of.
Fifty-thousand volts on your power lines usually solves the problem!